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Edgar Allan Poe: Biography, Works, and Style

Lesson Transcript

This video introduces Edgar Allan Poe, the father of the modern mystery story. Through his works, like 'The
Raven' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart,' Poe re ected the characteristics of Dark Romanticism by creating horri c
storylines and characters while exploring the dark, irrational depths of the human mind.

Biography
Edgar Allan Poe is a pop culture legend. His works have been translated into nearly every
language. His legacy as the inventor of detective ction has kept him in more than just literature
textbooks. He's known to have in uenced such great horror writers as Stephen King, Alfred
Hitchcock and even science- ction's Ray Bradbury. His stories have been made into countless lm
adaptations. Even his famous poem 'The Raven' was part of The Simpsons' very rst 'Treehouse of
Horrors' Halloween episode.

The writings of Edgar Allan Poe have inspired many modern-day horror and science- ction writers.

It might not be a surprise to those who have read Poe's works that he had a rather sad childhood.
Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, the second of three children. His parents, who
were traveling actors, died when he was young, so he was sent to live with a wealthy merchant,
John Allan, and his wife, Frances, in Richmond, VA. Frances served as a good mother to Edgar, but
John proved to be a less-than-supportive foster father. Despite the fact that they never adopted
Edgar, Allan was added to his name, and he spent his younger years traveling with the couple and
learning the family business. Poor Edgar wasn't terribly interested and spent a good deal of his
time writing poems instead. By the age of 13, he had enough poems to publish an anthology, but
he was discouraged by both his teacher and his foster father, who preferred he stay in the family
business.

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At the age of 17, Poe left for the University of Virginia, but because his foster father would not help
him pay his bills, he wound up in debt. To o set this, Poe turned to gambling, which only made
matters worse. It is said that Poe became so desperately poor that he had to burn his furniture to
keep warm. That was a turning point in Poe's relationship with Mr. Allan. Poe resented him for not
helping him nancially, especially since there was plenty of money available. His situation
worsened when he returned home from school to nd his ancée engaged to someone else.

While this was all devastating to Poe, he vowed that he would nd success and published his rst
book, Tamerlane, under the name Edgar A. Perry. He was only 18. He also enlisted in the army, and
after two years of service, he returned home in hopes of seeing Frances - the only mother he had
known - who had become sick. Sadly, he arrived too late to say his good-byes, a tragedy which
haunted him. He remained in Richmond long enough to publish another book of poetry before
heading to West Point.

He wasn't there for long, though. After starting, Poe heard that John Allan had remarried without
telling Poe or inviting him to the wedding. Since Poe was there on Allan's recommendation, he did
his best to get kicked out. As a result, Poe chose to focus on writing and completely severed ties
with Mr. Allan. In 1831, at the age of 22, he moved to Baltimore. After being robbed by one of his
relatives, he wound up staying with his aunt, Maria Clemm, who became a mother to him. He also
lived with his young cousin, Virginia.

Poe continued to live in poverty in Baltimore. Even when Allan died, he left Poe out of his will, so
Poe received no help from the man who had raised him. To make money, Poe wrote and sold short
stories. This eventually led to a position at the Southern Literary Messenger as an editor and critic,
which moved him back to Richmond. Within a year, the magazine became extremely popular
thanks to Poe's stories and nasty reviews. By the age of 27, Poe was able to bring Maria and
Virginia to Richmond. In 1836, he married his cousin Virginia; she was only 13 years old.

Mostly, the 1830s and early 1840s were good to Poe. He moved to New York, to Philadelphia and
back to New York. He wrote some of his best stories and became famous in his own time, quite a
feat for any writer (though it did not make him rich). In 1845, Poe's popularity exploded with the
publication of 'The Raven.' He traveled the country presenting lectures and solidifying his
reputation.

However, in 1847, his treasured wife, Virginia, died, and Poe began to struggle. He was no stranger
to loss, but that didn't ease the tragedy of losing his 24-year old wife. He su ered from writer's
block for months.

His short but tormented life came to a tragic end on October 7, 1849. He brie y disappeared only
to be found ve days later in a bar that was being used as an election polling station. He was
struggling to stay alive. No one really knows where he had been or what brought about Poe's
death. At the time, it was believed to be congestion of the brain. Other speculation has blamed
alcoholism.

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His literary adversary, Rufus Griswold, wrote a nasty, vengeful obituary of Poe in hopes of paying
him back for the critiques Poe made of Griswold's work. His account of the author's life, which
began with, 'This announcement will startle many but few will be grieved by it,' claimed that Poe
'had few or no friends' and led people to believe that Poe led a drug- and alcohol-induced life. This
is the biography that most people know of Poe, though many sources say those are only myths.
Nonetheless, Griswold's attempts to attack Poe only brought more attention to his work, causing
sales to skyrocket.

His Works
Of course, with all of this tragedy in his life, it is no wonder that Poe often wrote about madmen,
murder, being buried alive and death. His psychological thrillers, however, gave way to the
modern-day mystery, making him the father of the detective story. His 1841 publication of 'The
Murders in the Rue Morgue' was the rst of these stories and the rst to introduce C. August
Dupin, Poe's recurring detective.

Unlike some writers, though, Poe wrote in a variety of forms. His most popular pieces are short
stories, like 'The Tell-Tale Heart,' 'The Masque of the Red Death' and 'The Fall of the House of
Usher,' and poems, like 'The Raven' and 'Annabel Lee.' However, he also wrote essays, including
one called 'The Philosophy of Composition,' which shows the method he used to write 'The Raven.'
He wrote one play and one novel as well. As a literary critic and an editor, Poe was known to be
quite harsh and made many enemies easily. He was especially critical of Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow's poetry, believing it to be poorly written.

Style
Poe is said to have been in uenced by Lord Byron, a famous English Romantic poet; however,
minus characters who have self-destructive tendencies, their styles are very di erent. Poe's use of
diction, or word choice, is the start of what makes him stand apart from other writers. In his short
story 'The Fall of the House of Usher' he uses words like 'bleak,' 'rank,' 'depression of the soul'
and 'hideous dropping o of the veil' to describe the House of Usher. This pretty heavy word choice
is both sophisticated and chock-full of terrifying connotations, or emotional meanings.

Of course, it only follows that this use of such diction leads to horri c imagery, where he uses
words to create a picture in the reader's mind. One of Poe's most famous images comes from the
rst line of his poem 'The Raven:'

'Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary'

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Many of his works used heavy words to create graphic images in the mind of the reader.

While he doesn't use long, lavish descriptions in this line of the poem, we can easily see in our
mind's eye the night he describes. It's pitch black at midnight. A dull rain is pattering on what is
probably a lifeless backdrop. And because the narrator is so tired, those images are ampli ed in his
mind, too. The other stories are more grotesque in nature, and even others do not create images
of the setting but images of what the narrator is thinking. It's Poe's images that add to the overall
e ects of his stories. These elements are further explored in Poe's works in additional lessons in
this course.

Lesson Summary
Let's summarize. Edgar Allan Poe is known as the creator of the detective story and the modern
mystery. He didn't just write short stories; he also wrote poems, essays, and even a novel and a
play. Because he was heavily in uenced by many tragedies in his life, his writing was usually dark
and morbid. Through the use of diction and terrifying imagery, Poe was able to take readers into
the dark realms of the world as well as the horrifying depths of the mind. He used these techniques
in such famous works as 'The Raven,' 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher.' His
stories and poems are still widely read today, making him one of America's most popular writers.

Learning Outcomes
After watching this lesson, you should be able to:

Describe Edgar Allan Poe's life and how it in uenced his works

Identify Poe's major works

Discuss how Poe used diction and imagery in his work

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